Author Spotlight
Aanya Bansal
Junior Davis Muther had spent two hours slumped over his test prep booklet studying for an upcoming exam. But he wasn’t memorizing velocity formulas for his third hour physics test — he was studying air patterns and flight maneuvers for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Each page he flipped was a step closer to getting his private pilot’s license.
The “checkride” or flight test, another part of the exam, is what Muther has been training for since 2021 with a private instructor at the Flying Club of Kansas City.
The license would give Muther an edge for when he applies to the Air Force Academy — which has an acceptance rate of 12.4%. And even if he doesn’t get in, he still wants flying to have a place in his life. His flight bag, a tiny duffel bag where he keeps his charts, headset and an extra jacket goes to show his dedication and a license grants him a permanent attachment to the hobby.
“I always thought that flying would be one of the most difficult things a person could do because it’s just so technical,” Muther said. “But once you get the hang of it, it feels just like driving — it becomes second nature.”
Practical training starts with Muther and his instructor steering a Cessna-172 out of the hangar. They tediously go through their checks — making sure the engine is running and the dials are working. Once they’re ready, they call for the tower to get them on the runway and signal for take-off.
“The first couple seconds after you take-off you get scared because it’s a natural tendency to feel that you’re accelerating and your body knows that you’re in the air,” Muther said. “But after that, you get used to it, you sit there and you fly a plane — it’s really easy.”
The main focus of Muther’s training is on accelerating on the runway, taking off, circling around and then landing. After practicing tiring, labor-intensive air maneuvers like turning, stalls and banks, he takes breaks during flights and his instructor takes over — Muther uses this time to examine the dials and knobs embedded in the plane’s dashboard.
Along with passing the written and practical tests, the private pilot license also requires 80 hours of flying time. Since his first takeoff on Oct. 30, 2021, Muther has knocked off 30, spending his weekends soaring high over prairies and farm land.
“I like seeing the views and looking out the window,” Muther said. “It feels like a good escape to get away from everything.”
It’s hard to find time for flying classes while still attending school and participating in symphonic, marching and jazz band, so Muther cherishes every second in the sky as a teenage pilot-in-training.
“Flying has just always been an interest for me, no matter what I do,” Muther said.
Although senior Genesee McKenna is majoring in business, it’s not her passion. Business is the “Plan B” for her ultimate career goal — aviation.
Originally, McKenna planned to major in aviation at Oklahoma State University, Auburn University or Kansas State University, but decided to go to Grand Canyon University in Arizona to pursue her degree in business while taking flying classes on the side because of the high cost of flying programs — about $82,000 for a professional pilot bachelor’s degree at K-State.
“[Aviation] is super expensive, so you have to accept the fact that you’re going to be in quite a bit of debt after [school] just until you can get on your feet with a job,” McKenna said.
Growing up with three cousins who became pilots and a stepdad who flies for United Airlines, she’s been around propellers and cockpits for most of her life. It wasn’t until she went on a “discovery flight” with her stepdad’s friend in December of 2022 that her delight for flying took off. Tagging along in the cockpit, McKenna learned the basics of flying, from pre-takeoff checks, to climbs and descents. For a couple of seconds, she even clutched the steering joystick herself.
“I ended up being able to fly the plane, just for a second, to make sure that it was actually something that I wanted to do,” McKenna said.
Surprisingly, she wasn’t nervous at all and found flying easier than expected.
“Everyone thinks that flying a plane is super intimidating and it’d be super scary and you’d get up there and you wouldn’t know what you were doing,” McKenna said. “But it’s honestly super simple once you figure out the basics.”
She is now enrolled in a “ground school” program through Johnson County Community College where students study aerodynamics, airport rules and weather patterns and eventually fly planes themselves. When the course starts next month, McKenna will attend classes two nights a week for two months from 6-9 p.m. — a fitting end to her weeknights.
She’s enrolled in a one-year aviation program after college to obtain her aviation license and hopes to start flying passengers immediately after the program.
“The reactions that I get when I tell people I’m doing [aviation] is honestly my favorite part because everyone is super shocked and they weren’t expecting me to say that,” McKenna said.
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